Not His Type (18 page)

“Um, yeah, that
was a stroke of luck, wasn’t it?”

“To be honest, I
wasn’t sure you felt that way.”

“Why would you
think that?”

“Well, you
have
been back for over a year,” she pouted.  “And not a single phone call.  You’re
a very naughty boy, Travis.”

“I just kind of
figured you probably moved on, Lorna,” Travis said.  He was glad she couldn’t
see the face he made at her words and tone.  “I assumed you were probably
dating someone by the time I came back.”

“Oh, I dated a
few men, Travis, but…”  Lorna sighed dramatically.  “They weren’t you.  Nobody
is like you, Travis.  I’m
so
looking forward to our evening tomorrow
night.”

“Yeah, uh…me,
too.”  Suddenly, Travis couldn’t end the phone call quickly enough.  “Listen,
Lorna, I do still have a little work I’d like to get done tonight.  So if you
don’t mind….”

“Of course,
darling,” she cooed.  “I just wanted to hear your voice and tell you how happy
I am to be seeing you again.  You’ll pick me up at seven tomorrow, right?”

“Absolutely,” he
said firmly.  “Seven sharp.”

“Goodnight…darling.”

“Night.”

Travis ended the
call and sank into the chair behind his desk.  When he’d run into Lorna in the
bakery a few days ago, he’d been pleased to see her.  Now, however, he found
himself making comparisons yet again.

Brooke Valentine
was honest and straightforward; Travis couldn’t imagine her doing all that
coquettish sighing and fishing for compliments and assurances.  Brooke was, for
all the problems she’d had, strong and independent; Lorna, he knew, was more
than happy to have a man take care of her every need and whim.  Travis knew he
could’ve asked Lorna to wait for him during his last tour of duty; if he were
completely honest, he’d admit he’d hoped she’d find someone new and forget all
about him.  He hadn’t really cared about ending the relationship with Lorna;
but only a few hours ago, the thought of losing Brooke’s friendship had deeply
disturbed him.  And then there was that kiss.

Lorna Morgan
might be sultry and sexy, but suddenly, Travis couldn’t remember how she’d felt
in his arms.  He couldn’t remember her kiss turning him on the way Brooke’s
had.  He couldn’t get the taste and feel of Brooke’s mouth out of his thoughts
even now.  He turned to his work in an effort to push her from his head.

Even that didn’t
work very well, however, because Travis quickly realized Brooke had
accomplished a great deal in a very short time tonight.  She’d added several
new client accounts and set them up for monthly billing.  She’d set up invoices
for over a dozen major installations.  As she’d stated, all Travis needed to do
was print the invoices.  He checked the printer and sent all the invoices to
print in one batch.  When they finished printing, he rose, shutting off the
light in his office, and went to his bedroom to get ready for bed.

Brooke leaned on
her porch railing, an old blanket wrapped around her shoulders, waiting for Boo
to finish his business and come back.  Her eyes tracked to the windows of
Travis’ house.  She saw the light go off in the office, followed by a light
coming on in the next window – Travis’ room.  She saw his shadow pass in front
of the curtains a few times; heat rose in her cheeks when she realized he was
undressing before going to bed.  Quickly she turned away and called for Boo. 
The dog came bounding up to the porch and Brooke opened the door to let them
both inside.  The last thing she needed before she went to bed was thoughts of
Travis Cooper in various stages of undress!

Chapter
24

The next
morning, Brooke waited nervously for Travis to open his front door.  She’d had
second thoughts about letting him give her a ride to work, but she’d agreed
last night.  Now she stood, bundled against the cold, waiting on his front
porch.  She wrapped Travis’ soft scarf around her neck, pressing it to her nose
as she did so; she breathed deeply, inhaling his scent, a purely masculine
blend of soap, woodsy herbs, citrus and warm male.  The front door swung open,
and Brooke dropped the scarf, blushing.  A slow grin lifted one side of Travis’
lips and his blue eyes sparkled.

“Were you
sniffing my scarf?” he asked.

“Don’t be
silly!” she said, not actually denying it.

“You were!” he
laughed.  “You were sniffing my scarf!  Admit it!  I’m not the only one who
thinks someone around here smells nice!”

“Fine!” Brooke
muttered.  “I was sniffing your stupid scarf!  Happy now?”

Travis gently
tugged the scarf free.  He wrapped it around his own neck and simply stood
there for a long moment, looking down at her.  Brooke watched him, frowning
slightly.  Was he taking the scarf back?  Of course, he had every right to do
so, but…she’d become kind of attached to it.  Finally, Travis took the scarf
off; moving to stand directly in front of her, he wrapped it around Brooke’s
neck once again.  He grinned impishly at her.

“There you go,”
he quipped.  “I recharged it for you.”

Brooke drew in a
deep breath and stepped back; she felt the need to put some distance between
herself and Travis.  She turned and headed down the steps.

“Can we go now?”
she asked bluntly.  “Or should I call a cab again?”

“Nope, we can
go,” Travis answered, still grinning.

Brooke was aware
Travis was laughing at her.  The thought that kept her from frowning was
remembering that – for whatever reason – it had been
Travis
who’d
instigated that kiss last night.  That gave her some small measure of pleasure,
knowing she hadn’t thrown herself at the man, only to have him reject her; that
might have been too much to handle.

After ensuring
Brooke was settled, Travis climbed behind the wheel and started the engine.  He
glanced over at Brooke.

“Sorry I didn’t
have it warmed up for you already,” he said.

“I’m fine,”
Brooke replied.  “I’m not as fragile as you seem to think I am, you know.  I’ve
done a pretty good job of taking care of myself for a long time.”

“I know,” Travis
said, nodding.  “So don’t you think it’s about time to let somebody else take
care of you every now and then?  Would that be such a bad thing, Cupcake?”

“I don’t want to
get used to it.”  Brooke stared out the side window.  “You may find someone
else to take care of, and then where would I be?”

“You think I’m
that fickle?”

“It’s not a
matter of whether or not you’re fickle, Travis,” she said, finally turning and
looking directly at him.  “How do you think Lorna’s going to feel about you
doing things for me all the time?  Paying bills, buying groceries, buying
lunch, driving me around, all of it.  Do you honestly think Lorna – or any
other woman – is going to be fine with it?”

“I can’t do
something nice for a friend?” he asked, frowning.

“For another
woman?”

“A
friend
,
Brooke!”

“Okay, look at
it this way, Travis,” Brooke said, her tone reasonable.  “Let’s suppose – for
arguments’ sake – that you and I are dating.”

“Okay?” Travis
said hesitantly.

“Suppose I start
doing things for some other man.  I’m giving him rides, I’m making him dinner,
I’m –“

“All right, all
right!” Travis interrupted her.  “I get it!  But I still say I can do nice
things for a friend.  Just because you happen to be a woman doesn’t change
that.”  He stopped for a red light and turned to look directly at Brooke.  “And
for the record, I’m not dating Lorna.  It’s dinner.  Just dinner to catch up. 
That’s all.  If I wanted to date Lorna again, I’d have called her when I came
home from Iraq.”

At the bakery,
Travis walked inside with Brooke.  He bought a cup of coffee and an almond
croissant and headed out again after telling Brooke he’d be back to pick her up
at five.  He drove back to his house to get some more work done.

Once again,
however, his thoughts were drawn to Brooke.  He realized he’d been more pleased
than he should’ve been when he opened his front door and caught Brooke with her
nose buried in his scarf.  He smiled again, thinking about the look on her face
when she realized she’d been caught.

On the other
hand, though, Travis hadn’t been happy when Brooke questioned the fidelity of
his friendship; at least that was how Travis interpreted it.  Her implication
was that as soon as he was romantically involved with some woman he’d stop
paying attention to Brooke, stop doing things for her.  While he supposed he
could understand her reasoning, once again he found himself unsettled at the
possible loss of Brooke’s friendship and her company.

Travis went on
to ponder his reaction to Brooke’s example to demonstrate her point.  The idea
of Brooke spending time with another man didn’t sit well with Travis and that,
in itself, bothered him.  Shouldn’t he be happy if Brooke found a nice guy,
someone who would do the things for her that Travis had taken upon himself to
do?  Shouldn’t he want her to find someone she cared about and who cared for
her in return?  He sank further back into his chair, remembering that kiss from
the previous night; that memory only served to make the idea of Brooke with
another man even less palatable.

Travis slapped
his hand on his desk.  He was
not
jealous over Brooke’s attentions! 
Especially not over her attentions to some imaginary suitor!  The idea was ludicrous! 
No, it was only concern for the woman he thought of as a little sister. 
Concern for her safety and well-being, and nothing more.  It certainly wasn’t
jealousy!

“Hey, Coop,” Nick
said, sliding into a chair across from Travis.  “You look like you’re a million
miles away.”

“Just thinking,”
Travis said vaguely.

“Yeah?  What put
that look on your face?”

“Ah, I was
thinking about Brooke,” he answered.

Travis looked at
Nick; Nick waited patiently.  Nick Rodgers had been with Travis through some of
the worst days either of them had ever known; they’d lived through gunfire,
explosions, hellish heat, dust and blood.  Travis knew he could trust the other
man with his life; they each had, in fact, trusted the other with their lives. 
So now, he weighed his words, knowing anything he told Nick would stay within
the confines of his office.

“I kissed her
last night,” Travis finally blurted out.

Nick’s smile
started slowly; it gradually overtook his whole face.  Then he began to laugh,
a low rumble that grew until it burst out into the room as a loud, rollicking
belly laugh.  Travis stared at him, wondering what he was laughing about.  When
Nick finally stopped laughing, he rubbed a hand across his eyes.

“Why did you
kiss her?” Nick asked.

“I have no
idea,” Travis said sincerely.  He leaned his head back against his chair. 
“She’s not even –“

“Yeah, yeah,
she’s not your type,” Nick interrupted.  “You keep sayin’ that.  Has it
occurred to you that your
type
isn’t really your type at all?”

“What is that
supposed to mean?”

“Name some of
the women you’ve dated in the past.”

“Lorna,
Clarissa, Julianna, Elizabeth…how many do you want me to name?”

“That’s probably
enough,” Nick said sarcastically.  “Although you and I both know that list
could go on for a while.”  He rolled his eyes.  “So what do those women all
have in common?”

“Well…they’re
all similar physically, I suppose,” Travis answered.  “Tall, slim, well-dressed
and beautiful.  They’re all college-educated and professional.”

“I was thinking
more along the lines that they’re all
ex
-girlfriends.”

“What’s your
point?”

“My point,
Travis, is that maybe you aren’t finding a girlfriend to last more than six
months because you’re looking at the wrong women!”

“Are you saying
Brooke Valentine is my type?” Travis demanded.  His expression made clear his
opinion of that idea.

“I’m just saying
there’s a reason you don’t date women for a very long period of time, that’s
all,” Nick said.  “And for the record, I think Brooke Valentine is more of a
woman than any of your recent girlfriends.”  He grimaced.  “Ugh!  Lorna
Morgan!  What a snooty, self-important, self-absorbed –“

“I’m going out
with her tonight,” Travis interrupted.

“What?”  Nick’s
eyes widened.  “You called Lorna?”

“No.  I ran into
her at Babycakes when I gave Brooke a ride one morning.  Lorna invited me to
dinner to catch up.”  He shook his head.  “I think you’re wrong on this, Nick.”

“Then I’ll ask
you again,” Nick said.  “Why’d you kiss Brooke?”

“I don’t know,
man,” Travis sighed.  “We were in here working – she’s agreed to help me with
some of the paperwork until I hire someone.  And she’s very smart and very
fast!”  He shook his head.  “Anyway…Brooke was here in my chair and I was
leaning over her shoulder.  She turned to say something to me and…it just
happened.  That’s all.  It was just one of those things.”